Cosmetic Dentistry

Many of the 27,000 dentists here this week for the Chicago Dental Society's annual convention apparently are less interested in learning to fill cavities than in new ways of catering to the burgeoning number of Americans intent on sporting a beautiful smile. A glut of dentists has occurred at the same time that water fluoridation and better decay prevention have cut down on the number of pained jaws that once guaranteed a dentist's waiting room would always be packed. Painful...

I am reasonably sure that I will never be secretary of state or a personal friend of former President George W. Bush, but I do have one trait in common with Condoleezza Rice. We both have gap teeth. The same is true of Madonna, Eddie Murphy, Anna Paquin, David Letterman, Natalie Cole and supermodel Lara Stone. In my case, the space between my two front teeth is so large that you could almost squeeze an extra tooth in there. (I'm sure Elton John can relate to that.) Like...

Stress can turn your hair gray, send you racing to the kitchen to look for chocolate and send you to the emergency room with chest pains. Now you can add dental problems to the list of the bad things stress can do to you. "Stress can lead to teeth grinding and jaw clenching, and that can lead to serious dental issues," said Jeffrey Weller, a Chicago dentist and founder of Weller Aesthetic & Restoration Dental Care. "People came into my office with serious destruction; cracked teeth, jaw pain.

I've been vaguely aware of the Blackhawks' success, but now that Duncan Keith lost his teeth? I'm in. I lost my own front teeth not long ago. In terms of medical maladies, it was pretty lame. In terms of emotional maladies, it was gut-wrenching. Dental work is a strange beast — it feels at once dreadful and indulgent. Poor people don't go around getting implants. Your teeth are falling out? You let them fall out. It's also, like anything medical,...

Congratulations to reporter Anne Taubeneck ("Brush with fame," June 14) on a well-written report about cosmetic dentistry and dentist-to-the-movie-stars Dr. Dorfman. The doctor seems to brag and complain about the less-than-perfect teeth of some movie stars, stressing the need for a "perfect" smile he can create. For some people, a less than "perfect" smile can be quite distinctive and enhance their appearance (e.g. Sophia Loren, Tom Cruise). You do not always have to have 100 percent straight, snow-white teeth...

Flip open any magazine, turn on the television or head to the movies. You'll see them everywhere. Dazzling smiles. Gleaming white teeth. Perfect dentistry. It could give a person a complex. And some experts say that's exactly what's happening. "Many people now have teeth that are whiter than the normal color scale we used to use many years ago," said Dr. Kimberly Harms, a consumer adviser for the American Dental Association. "We now have many people whose teeth are...

"A smile is the cheapest way to improve your looks, even if your teeth are crooked," or so the adage goes. But flashing a grin often is easier to propose than perform for many of us: According to a recent survey by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, "50 percent of adults are unsatisfied with their smiles." Yet for adults, improving a smile with conventional orthodontics can be a complex and daunting procedure. First of all, braces take years to work...

Stress can turn your hair gray, send you racing to the kitchen to look for chocolate and send you to the emergency room with chest pains. Now you can add dental problems to the list of the bad things stress can do to you. "Stress can lead to teeth grinding and jaw clenching, and that can lead to serious dental issues," said Jeffrey Weller, a Chicago dentist and founder of Weller Aesthetic & Restoration Dental Care. "People came into my office with serious destruction; cracked teeth, jaw pain.

Ask Chicagoan Clair Foley O`Connor, 33, for a smile, and you`ll get a spontaneous, ear-to-ear grin. Ask actress Kathy Santen, 30, to say "cheese," and you`ll get an unabridged, molar-to-molar expression of happiness. Ask Linda Van Etten, 33, how hard it was to have her picture taken two years ago. "I used to stare at a camera with my mouth closed," she`ll say. "But today, when the photographer says `ready,` I`m not at all afraid to smile." All three women began life with crooked front teeth and...

When it comes to her dentist appointments, Anne Baldwin knows the drill. Before a plaque scraper enters her mouth, she grabs a Diet Pepsi from the office refrigerator and a snack from the waiting-room table. A hand-picked movie or a few minutes in the massage chair helps her calm down before the dentist is ready. Baldwin looks forward to her trips to Advanced Dental in Berlin, Conn. "It doesn't look or feel like a stereotypical dental office, and for me, that's a plus," Baldwin said.

I've been vaguely aware of the Blackhawks' success, but now that Duncan Keith lost his teeth? I'm in. I lost my own front teeth not long ago. In terms of medical maladies, it was pretty lame. In terms of emotional maladies, it was gut-wrenching. Dental work is a strange beast — it feels at once dreadful and indulgent. Poor people don't go around getting implants. Your teeth are falling out? You let them fall out. It's also, like anything medical,...

"A smile is the cheapest way to improve your looks, even if your teeth are crooked," or so the adage goes. But flashing a grin often is easier to propose than perform for many of us: According to a recent survey by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, "50 percent of adults are unsatisfied with their smiles." Yet for adults, improving a smile with conventional orthodontics can be a complex and daunting procedure. First of all, braces take years to work...

When it comes to her dentist appointments, Anne Baldwin knows the drill. Before a plaque scraper enters her mouth, she grabs a Diet Pepsi from the office refrigerator and a snack from the waiting-room table. A hand-picked movie or a few minutes in the massage chair helps her calm down before the dentist is ready. Baldwin looks forward to her trips to Advanced Dental in Berlin, Conn. "It doesn't look or feel like a stereotypical dental office, and for me, that's a plus," Baldwin said.

Congratulations to reporter Anne Taubeneck ("Brush with fame," June 14) on a well-written report about cosmetic dentistry and dentist-to-the-movie-stars Dr. Dorfman. The doctor seems to brag and complain about the less-than-perfect teeth of some movie stars, stressing the need for a "perfect" smile he can create. For some people, a less than "perfect" smile can be quite distinctive and enhance their appearance (e.g. Sophia Loren, Tom Cruise). You do not always have to have 100 percent straight, snow-white teeth...

Flip open any magazine, turn on the television or head to the movies. You'll see them everywhere. Dazzling smiles. Gleaming white teeth. Perfect dentistry. It could give a person a complex. And some experts say that's exactly what's happening. "Many people now have teeth that are whiter than the normal color scale we used to use many years ago," said Dr. Kimberly Harms, a consumer adviser for the American Dental Association. "We now have many people whose teeth are...

Many of the 27,000 dentists here this week for the Chicago Dental Society's annual convention apparently are less interested in learning to fill cavities than in new ways of catering to the burgeoning number of Americans intent on sporting a beautiful smile. A glut of dentists has occurred at the same time that water fluoridation and better decay prevention have cut down on the number of pained jaws that once guaranteed a dentist's waiting room would always be packed. Painful...

I am reasonably sure that I will never be secretary of state or a personal friend of former President George W. Bush, but I do have one trait in common with Condoleezza Rice. We both have gap teeth. The same is true of Madonna, Eddie Murphy, Anna Paquin, David Letterman, Natalie Cole and supermodel Lara Stone. In my case, the space between my two front teeth is so large that you could almost squeeze an extra tooth in there. (I'm sure Elton John can relate to that.) Like...

Ask Chicagoan Clair Foley O`Connor, 33, for a smile, and you`ll get a spontaneous, ear-to-ear grin. Ask actress Kathy Santen, 30, to say "cheese," and you`ll get an unabridged, molar-to-molar expression of happiness. Ask Linda Van Etten, 33, how hard it was to have her picture taken two years ago. "I used to stare at a camera with my mouth closed," she`ll say. "But today, when the photographer says `ready,` I`m not at all afraid to smile." All three women began life with crooked front teeth and...